Born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria). A graduate of Vienna's Royal Dramatic Academy, he performed on the Austrian and German stage and appeared in many German silent and sound films. He went to England after Hitler's rise to power and continued to the US in 1936. He played imposing character roles in many Hollywood films, as well as on Broadway, sometimes sympathetic or humorous but mostly scheming or villainous. He was nominated for an Oscar® for his role as Uncle Chris in I REMEMBER MAMA (1948). His coarse, houndlike Slavic features made him an ideal heavy in films about foreign intrigue. In the mid-1960s he returned to England, intending to retire, but he continued appearing in films for another decade. Notable non-nominated screen credits include COMRADE X and THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (both 1940), BALL OF FIRE (1941), MISSION TO MOSCOW (1943), ANNA LUCASTA (1949), THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955), WAR AND PEACE (1956), THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM (1962), FUNERAL IN BERLIN (1966), THE HAPPENING and BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN (both 1967), THE MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT (1969), THE TAMARIND SEED (1974), and his last film, VAN DER VALK UND DAS MÄDCHEN (1976).  Nominated for Supporting Actor 1948: I REMEMBER MAMA 1 nomination